A Beginner’s Guide to Infographics

With social media networks becoming increasingly popular, infographics have become powerful marketing tools. How hard is it to design an infographic, though? You may worry that the entire process is hopelessly complex, requiring experience in computer graphics or professional design. Such worries, however, are completely unfounded. In fact, creating an infographic is much easier than you might think. Below, we provide a number of tips to help guide you through the infographic design process.

1.The Design Process

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be an expert in computer graphics or creative design to create attractive and popular infographics. There are a number of websites online that will do all of the hard work for you. When using these websites, all you have to do is a.) enter all of the data you want to be included in your infographic and b.) select your preferred colour and text options. You will then be presented with a fully finished, highly polished infographic ready to be shared on Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr.

2. Think About your Audience

When deciding what type of data you want to include in your infographic, think about what would be of significant interest to your audience: perhaps your company has conducted a consumer poll recently or, maybe noteworthy statics have recently been released in your industry. When creating infographics, it is essential that you remember (and cater to) your audience.

3. Aesthetics are Key

When creating your first infographic, take a few minutes to think about its overall appearance. When creating your infographic, try and select colours which complement each other or, colours which match your overall brand. If you’re finding it hard to find colours which complement each other, try using one of the many colour testing tools available online.

4. Font Selection

Though it may sound strange, font selection is also important when designing your first infographic. In fact, you’d be surprised what sort of impact different fonts can have on the overall appearance of a design. Whilst a font can initially seem amusing and fun, remember to ask yourself two quick questions before selecting it for use: 1. Does this font complement the content of my infographic and/or my company as a whole? 2. Is this font easy to read?

5. Source Accurate Statistics

When designing and creating your fist infographic, be sure to use accurate (and up-to-date) statistics. Remember that the aim of an infographic is to present complex mathematical ideas in a palatable way. If you fail to source accurate data, or make a mistake when entering the statistics you want to present, your infographic, though aesthetically pleasing, will be, essentially, meaningless.

Do you use Infographics in your content marketing? Please leave your comments below…